Surviving
by pupgirl123
Summary: Friends. That was something she hadn't thought of in a long time. Her thoughts centered on survival these days, and first rule of survival? Don't get close to anyone; if she didn't have anyone to care about than she would have no one to lose. Like the last time. Full summary inside, Raph/OC, 2012 version, T for violence and to be safe
1. No Ordinary Girl

**Hey people. I know i may not have the best track record with stories, but i really wanted to post this one. I've pre-written the first few chapters already, so there will at least be a few more chapters. Anyway, Here's the full summary:**

** My OC's name is Melanie, or Mel. She's a mutant girl with a dark past; one that has led her to the life where she's alone, on the run from the Kraang, with only one goal, survival. When she meets the guys, will they help her? Will she let them help her, or push them away like she has pushed everyone away since that day? Or will her past finally catch up to her? And along the way, will one hot headed turtle sneak his way past the walls she has put up all around her?**

**Just so you know, i put this story down under Raph/OC, but i might end up scrapping the Raph part. I love the idea of my oc and him together, but i may not be able to write it well enough. So Read, enjoy, review. And don't be shy to review with anything, praise, flames, suggestions for the plot. I would love to get some of your input on what you think should happen, so don't be afraid to review, or even PM me with your idea.**

**I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

**Thank you and enjoy**

**- Pupgirl123**

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A girl sat on the roof, overlooking the shabby houses and apartments of her neighborhood.

The chilled wind blew her raven black hair into her face. She brushed the one sided bangs from her left eye, and tucked the rest of the wavy locks into her hood as she pulled it up over her head. The hood instantly made her feel more secure, for childish reasons.

It covered her face from recognition, from her pale white skin to her liquid green eyes. The hood was always up, minus when she was in a fight or alone. The simple familiarity of it made her feel a bit more at ease. Plus, to be completely honest, it looked pretty bad-ass. Especially when she changed and all you could see was her eyes under the shadows.

But right now her eyes were scanning the neighborhood houses. She couldn't even afford to rent the worst one in all of New York; which she was sitting on the roof of at the moment. Instead of renting an apartment like any normal person-with money- would do, she just slipped in through the long-since broken windows to sleep. No one else would've dared to go in there, but she thought it beat sleeping in an alley.

She'd managed to salvage a generator from the dump that was in semi-good condition, and fixed it up so it would run. All it really managed to power was the old oven that had been abandoned there along with the apartment, but that was enough. In the winter she would barricade the broken windows to keep out the cold, then turn the oven on and light a fire. It kept her warm enough to survive.

Honestly, all she did was survive, she didn't feel like she was really living.

It was a bitter cold night tonight, but instead of inside snuggling up in a ratty old blanket, she was outside on the roof, snuggling deep into the old navy blue coat she always wore. She usually had black baggy jeans, black sneakers, and a black shirt underneath the ever present coat. Without it, she would probably look much more goth than she liked. It was several years old, worn, stained, and not even a women's coat. Overall it was something any normal teenage girl wouldn't be caught dead in. She would've traded it in years ago, but something stopped her. It still smelled like her father. This was the one thing she had managed to save of his, and her whole family for that matter.

But now is not the time for that story. Back to freezing her tail off on a roof.

She wasn't really sure why she was out here, honestly. All she knew was she had a strong, gut feeling that she should come out, and if past experiences had taught her anything it was to trust her instincts. But looking around at the boring street with the boring buildings and hearing the boring city noises; she started to doubt her theories.

Finally she decided that if she just sat here she was eventually going to freeze, so she stood up and hopped across the rooftops, running to warm herself up. She hadn't gotten far when she finally located the source of her unease. The darkness of the streets was getting interrupted by blasts of bright pink light.

Kraang.

Her first thought was to run, to run as fast as possible and not look back. But then she realized something that stopped her. The Kraang only used their bright pink (seriously, why PINK?) blaster guns when they were fighting. And if they weren't fighting her, they obviously had to be fighting someone else.

Her feet slid backwards and bent, the tips of her fingers balancing on the rooftop. After sliding her into a crouch on all fours, she closed her eyes and felt the change start to course through her veins. She pushed it back, forcing it to not resurface unless she needed it to.

'Just make sure they don't hurt anybody. Like they hurt me.'

She crept to the edge of the alley and looked down. But when she looked down, she didn't see a human who needed to be rescued, but rather 4 giant turtles who did not look like they needed any help.

Now, most people would've run from 4 giant mutant turtles with ninja weapons fighting inter-dimensional alien robots. But, once again, she was not a normal person.

Instead of screaming and running, she studied them, committing their looks to memory as she watched.

There were four, all tall and green, standing on 2 legs. Where a chest and back should have been, there was a huge shell and plastron. They all had some sort of weapon, and a bandanna covering their eyes. There was purple, red, blue, and orange. They all also had knee and elbow pads with wrappings around their hands.

After a minute of watching them, she decided that they were definitely skilled with their weapons, they were taking out more Kraang than she ever could alone. They were harsh too, one would slice them into pieces with 2 swords, one would whack them with nun chucks, another would smack them with a 6 foot bo-staff, and the last one would simply stab them with sai until the brainy alien popped out.

_Huh, they could be valuable allies. Or dangerous enemies. But they were fighting the Kraang, how bad could they be? The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?_

Before she could dwell on her internal argument too long, something caught her eye down in the fight. One of the turtles, the one with the orange mask, had begun to celebrate, even though there were still 3 Kraang bots left. He yelled,

"Booyakasha!" and spun his nun-chucks. He didn't notice one of the bots get up behind him and aim a blaster at his open back.

His brothers did, though.

"Mikey!"

The one in red yelled. The others turned with horrified expressions, but they were to far away to help. By the time the guy would've turned around, he'd already be blasted. And don't let the color fool you, those guns could do some serious damage. She should know.

Melanie didn't even think, she didn't have time to. She just reacted. She was off her perch on the roof above and falling toward the Kraang bot within a second, the change taking over fully as she fell. She positioned her feet so one hit the bots head, knocking it clean off, and the other hit the blaster away from the turtle.

When she landed, she was no longer a normal-well, normal looking- teenage girl. Her green eyes had literally started to glow, and fine black fur lined her face. It covered the rest of her body, too, but you couldn't tell because of her clothes. Her ears had shifted to the top sides of her head, now resembling large black wolf's ears. She crouched, her legs now perfectly suited for running on all fours or 2 legs. A black sleek tail had slipped out of a hole in her pants, and it shifted from side to side. Her hands balled into fists, and when she opened them black claws had emerged. She lifted her face from the ground to snarl at the remaining Kraang, showing her long white canines.

Anther droid came running, but with one roundhouse kick he was out. The last one tried to run, clearly sensing he'd lost this fight, but the next second she had thrown a knife that stuck through his robotic head. Once she was sure there was no more Kraang, she was about to change back when she noticed the turtles, all standing there gawking at her.

The orange one stepped up. "Hi what-hey!" The girl didn't give him time to finish. She turned and raced down the alley, not even pausing when she reached a brick wall. She just jumped up onto it, digging her strong claws into the crumbling mortar and scaling it.

"Hey, wait!" A new voice called. But she didn't listen. Sure they could make good allies, but they could also be devastating enemies. It wasn't worth the risk. Was it? Not to mention, she didn't completely trust them. Sure they were fighting the Kraang, but hey so were the foot clan right?

She reached the rooftops, with the sounds of pursuit filling her strong ears she raced away on four legs. Their ninja like footfalls would go unheard by the average human, but she could hear not only their feet, but their breaths and heartbeats, too, which were already accelerated by the fight.

She jumped over gaps between buildings, desperately trying to shake them, but they were always right behind her. She finally got far enough ahead of them that they couldn't see her jump into an alley and duck behind a dumpster. She waited, listening carefully for any sign of them. She finally heard them jump over the gap overhead. She waited a few minutes, until their heartbeats, tired breaths and footfalls didn't reach her ears.

Eventually she slipped out of hiding, and ran all the way back to her house. She laid down on the ratty blanket she was forced to call a bed, surrounded by only a tiny fire, an oven, and a chair so destroyed that if you sat in it you'd sink right through.

She let her mind drift back to the turtles. Had she done the right thing by running? I mean, she had a chance to make allies, maybe even friends.

Friends. That was something she hadn't thought of in a long time. Her thoughts were focused around survival these days, and first rule of survival? Don't get close to anyone. That was the way it had to be. It was best this was; if she didn't have anything than she would have nothing to lose.

She sighed, scooting closer to the embers, hoping she'd made the right choice.

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**Like it? Hate it? TELL ME! REVIEW! I'll update again this weekend.**


	2. She Can Talk

**Okay, here's chapter 2! I'll put up chapter 3 on Tuesday. It should be a good long one, longer than the first 2 anyway. April will also make her first appearance in it, but i'm still debating on whether or not to make her a major character. What do you guys think? After that i'm out of pre-written chapters, so i'm going to have to write as i go. Anyway, enjoy, review, anything and everything you have to say is appreciated, even if you just want to say how much you hate it.**

**And, sigh, I do not own TMNT.**

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It had been a week since Melanie met the turtles. Well, if you call falling from the sky to save one of their lives and then running away meeting them. At the moment she was laying down in her house,

attempting to sleep. But sleep was difficult to achieve when her generator was broken and all she had was a tiny fire to keep herself warm in the literally freezing weather. She had done everything possible,

but it looked like her generator was truly dead this time. With no oven to keep her warm, she had to do everything possible to keep from freezing. She bundled up in all the clothes she had, including her

father's coat. She covered herself in old blankets and even towels, but as she lay shivering she knew it was in vain. Even growing out fur along her skin hadn't helped much. She didn't know how actual

wolves did this in the wild. She was desperately trying to focus on the endless sounds of New York City, instead of how her very bones were shivering. And luckily for her she was. Her sensitive ears

picked up a suspicious sound that perked them up. She lifted her head, trying to identify it. She recognized it a minute too late. She swore, diving behind the oven as her wall was blasted in,

scattering debris everywhere. She jumped up, baring her sharp canines and growling at the culprits. There were 5 Kraang droids, all in "Business man mode," as she called it. They all were armed with the

usual blasters. A snarl ripped from her throat as she dove at the first one, ripping his weapon away and sinking her claws into his metal chest, ripping out all the wires she could. The others opened fire at

her, but she managed to shield herself with the now dysfunctional robot she had ripped apart. She sprinted towards the hole in the wall with inhuman speed, dropping the Kraang droid as she reached it.

She jumped up to catch the bricks with her claws. Just before she could pull herself up, though, a burning pain erupted through her side. One of those stupid robots had gotten in a lucky hit with their

blaster. She couldn't help a loud scream/howl from escaping her body, though she tried. To her horror, she saw that the pain of the blast was causing her to change back into a human. Unfortunately, if she

was ever in pain it was much harder for her to focus enough to stay in "wolf form." Before she could regain control, her nails that had been digging into the mortar around the bricks had retracted, and she

plummeted the two story fall. She twisted her body in midair so that she landed on her stomach, instead of her back. She groaned as even more pain shot through her body, and her breath caught in

her throat like someone was crushing her lungs. She forced back tears stubbornly. _"Don't show weakness. Don't show fear."_ She told herself. As the remaining droids jumped down, surrounding her in

the alley, she managed to change once again into her mutant form. She forced her body upright, gritting her teeth. She leaned back against the wall for support. They surrounded her, aiming their guns

menacingly. "The one known as experiment 17 will come with the Kraang to the Kraang's place of experimenting." Melanie could have laughed at that. If they thought she would come back with them they had another thing coming.

"Not in this life, Metal-head." She retorted, then jumped at one. She yanked the gun out of his grasp then slashed him repeatedly with her claws. She flipped through the air towards the next one with

ease, pulling out knives concealed within her boots as she went. She stabbed at one's chest, effectively making the brain looking alien flee. She turned to the third one, only to get thrown

backwards through the air into a brick wall by a brute force. Her back smacked the wall, probably leaving a bruise behind, and she fell, landing on her already hurt side. Her battered body nearly

screamed in protest, and she couldn't hold back a yelp of pain no matter how hard she might have tried. She lifted her face, only to see the barrel of a blaster gun pointed at her. The smallest amounts of

fear flashed on her face as she saw that the Kraang had been joined by about 15 more. A few she could take, but 15 alone? Not possible.

"Experiment 17 shall now be brought back to experiment 17's place of experimenting." The one holding the blaster aimed at her face said.

She growled, but the gun in her face still lit up. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the familiar blow, but it never came. Instead she heard someone cry,

"Booyakasha!" She opened her eyes in time to see the droid in front of her be thrown away. She looked up into the face of her savior, one of the turtles. The one with the Blue mask and the katana's.

He was holding a hand out to her, to help her up. She hesitated for a moment, then took it, allowing herself to be pulled up. As she stood, she saw another droid running up behind him unsuspected, so she decided to take matters into her own hands.

"Mind if i borrow this?" She asked. Without waiting for an answer, she pulled the extra Katana off his back, swinging it expertly, slicing through three Kraang at once. Her knives had been lost in the fight,

so she would have to retrieve them later. She handed the sword back to the slightly stunned and impressed turtle, then jumped onto another, sinking her claws into his metal body. Adrenaline pumped

through her veins, pushing her forward. With the new help, the remaining droids were destroyed within minutes. She straightened, panting slightly. She leaned back against the wall, adrenaline leaking from

her body like air from a balloon, leaving all the ignored pain in it's wake. She gently prodded her burnt side, groaning as she assessed the damage from the burn.

"Hey, you okay?" A voice came from behind her. She turned to see the four turtles standing there. She noticed how they were poised ready to run, like she was going to take off again. But that would be

pointless. In this shape, they would easily overtake her. Besides, they had just saved her. How bad could they be? She gave a quick nod in response to the question. The purple one spoke next.

"No, you're hurt. I can help-" He took a step closer, but she took a step back to match his.

"It's okay, we're not going to hurt you." Blue spoke as if he was consoling a lost puppy. She nodded again.

"Awesome!" Orange exclaimed, jumping way closer than either blue or purple was. She immediately jumped backwards about 3 feet, her sore back hitting the wall as she slipped into a defensive crouch. The red one smacked orange upside the head.

"Mikey, can't you see she's scared?" Blue asked. Her head snapped up at this.

"I'm not scared, i'm defensive." She snapped. "There's a difference."

"She can talk!" Orange exclaimed. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, allowing crossing her arms to suffice.

"Yes, i can talk." She slowly straightened her spine, debating whether or not to trust them. "So you're Mikey?" She asked him.

"Yep, and these are my brothers; Leo, Donnie and Raph." She nodded, storing away the names for later use.

"I'm Melanie."

"Nice to meet you Melanie." Blue-Leo said.

"You too." She said politely.

"You are still hurt." Donnie added. "I can take a look at it-"

"No need. I've got it covered." She told him, them turned to walk back into her building. They stood there for a moment, not sure whether to follow or not. She turned at the door. "You coming or what?" She asked, clearing up their confusion. They followed her into the crappy apartment building.

"So I take it you have dealt with the Kraang before?" Leo asked. She noted he seemed to be a leader. She nodded.

"So why are they after you?" Raph asked. She sighed.

"Just cause you saved my life don't expect me to spill my whole life story." She told him.

"Will you at least answer a few of our questions?" Donnie asked. She shrugged.

"Depends on the questions." She replied.

"Fair enough. Why did you run away from us before?" He continued.

"I wasn't sure if you were enemies or allies. Better to be cautious."

"But you still saved me." Mikey reminded her.

"Yes, for 2 reasons; one, enemy of my enemy's my friend, right? And 2, instinct. With the whole part wolf thing, my instincts tend to take over at weird times." Just then she opened the door to her now ruined apartment.

"You live HERE?" Mickey exclaimed. Once again, Raph slapped him. She almost laughed at the action.

"Used to, anyway. Can't stay now that the Kraang know about it." She explained. She walked up to her large duffel bag, pulling out her measly first aid kit. She really needed to restock. From behind her she heard a creak, then the splintering of wood and tearing of fabric, followed by Mikey's shriek. "Yeah, don't sit in the chair."

"A little late for that." Leo remarked. She smirked a she cleaned her side wound with rubbing alcohol, wincing as she did so.

"Are you sure you don't want any help?" Donnie asked worriedly. She gave him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, i'm fine. I know how to fix up injuries." She gently put gauze over it, and taped it in place.

"So where are you going? Friends house?" Mikey asked.

"Don't have any." She replied. "I'll just find some bridge to crash under." "But that's not safe!" Leo protested. "You're already hurt, what if the Kraang come back?"

"Well, i don't exactly have a lot of options at this point." She spat out somewhat bitterly.

"Sure you do. Come home with us. Can she guys, please?" Mickey pleaded.

"We just met her, we can't trust her to come back to the lair!" Raph protested.

"Don't worry hot head." She snorted as she rolled her eyes. The others sniggered. "I don't need any help. Besides, I don't fully trust you guys yet either. Not to mention i'm in no mood to crawl through the sewers."

"How did you know we lived in the sewers?" He growled suspiciously, pulling out his sai from his belt. The others watched the stand off.

"I can smell it." She responded simply, shoving her supplies into her bag, save for her coat that she kept wrapped tightly around her figure. Her answer caught him off guard.

"What?"

"You're not the sharpest are ya? I'm part wolf, you know, heightened senses. No offense, but you guys kind of reek of sewer. And pizza." She added thoughtfully, taking a whiff. "Bacon, anchovy, and garlic?" She asked.

"Impressive." Raph conceded. "Anyway, good to meet ya guys, but i've gotta get going." She jumped out the window, pulling herself up onto the roof as she had tried to do before. She took off across the rooftops, stopping when she heard someone call out;

"Wait!" She turned. "Will we see you again?" Raph asked. She smiled.

"Yes." She replied, then turned and ran off on all fours into the night.

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**Once again...REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW**

**I also want to thank Melanie for being my first reviewer. This chapter's for you!**


	3. Ask For Help

**Okay, here's chapter 3. I know i said it would be long but i decided to break it up into 2 separate chapters, since it was so long and since it there are 2 separate events going on. I'll add the next chapter on either friday or Saturday. **

**So, i'm up to 3 reviews, and even though i know that's not a lot they still mean a lot to me, so i want to thank**

**KikaKatTIO**

**Chelse16**

**and Melanie**

**for reviewing. And to Chelse16, i am planning on doing that, but i may end up changing the part about Raph. Anyway, you know the drill. I do not own TMNT, Read, Review, Enjoy, ect. Bye**

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True to her word, it was only a few days later that I saw them again. I had been out walking through some of the rougher streets of New York, scouting for a new home. It was just

starting to get dark when she heard a scream. The scream was accompanied by a familiar scent on the wind; Kraang. God, these guys just never quit do they? I took off for the sound,

and as I rounded the corner she saw what was happening. A woman was backed against a wall, with human disguised Kraang surrounding her. One of the Kraang droids reached out and

grabbed her, attempting to drag her away. I snarled, but resisted the urge to change. One of the many things experience has taught me is that humans do not respond well to mutant

wolves. Instead I took off as a human, running silently up behind them. I hit the one holding the girl in a flying kick, causing him to let go. The girl tried to run, but another robot blocked her

path, grabbing her. I pulled out my knives, attacking as many as I could. There was 7 of them, so it was difficult, but not impossible. I was still in human form, so my senses were too weak to

pick up as many things as I normally could. Like the sound of one of the droids sneaking up on me. He grabbed me from behind, almost like i was on the receiving end of a hug. His hold

pinned my arms to my sides in an iron grip, causing my knives to clatter to the ground. I struggled with everything i had, even changing to get more power, but I could not break free

with shear strength alone. As I struggled, i saw them out of the corner of my eye, throwing the girl into a van and speeding off. I also saw how they were leading me towards another van just

like it. In a last ditch effort, I lifted both my feet from the ground and slammed them down into the Kraang's legs. It was enough to knock him off balance and into the ground. He took me

down with him, but i was able to wiggle my way out of his slightly loosened grasp. I was off in a flash, racing over rooftops with them in pursuit. By this point, my still injured side that had

begun to scar had reopened and throbbed with dull pain, as if to remind me to be careful. With that in mind i continuously stole glances over my shoulder. I finally managed to ditch them the

same way i ditched the turtles the first time we met. I ducked in an alley, letting them continue over me and hiding until i was sure they were gone. As the sounds of them grew more and

more distant, i contemplated my next move. I couldn't possibly just leave that poor woman with the Kraang, they'd do to her the same thing they did to me. I sighed, realizing I had only

one option, one last resort, undignified, and completely humiliating option: ask for help.

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"Hello? Hello? Giant turtle guys, you here?" I called, walking through the sewers. I had to admit, these guys chose a great hiding place from humans. Even i couldn't find them. I would track

them by scent, but the smell of certain other things were a bit too overpowering. And they left no other clues whatsoever of where in the New York sewer system they were. I sighed, finding

a dry and clean spot against the wall to rest. I plopped down on my butt, resting my head back against the wall. I'd been roaming the sewers for 2 hours trying to find them, but nothing. They could be anywhere in NYC.

"Almost kidnapped, hungry, tired, and now lost in New York City's sewage system. Worst day ever." I allowed myself a brief moment of self pity.

"That bad, huh?" I jumped as a feminine voice startled me. I turned to find a girl about my age with flaming red orange hair pulled back into a ponytail with bangs over her forehead. She was wearing a yellow t-shirt, jean shorts with black leggings underneath, and black boots. She sat across from me in the tunnel. She smiled kindly, with something like understanding in her expression.

"Yeah, kind of." I responded. "What are you doing down here?"

"I could ask you the same question." She replied.

I gave a small humorless chuckle. "If I told you you probably wouldn't believe me." I stopped laughing when I finally caught her scent through the smell of sewage. Her own scent was

normal, even if it did show me that she spent a lot of time down here, though she attempted to disguise it with perfume. But there was somebody else's scent on her, someone she spent a

lot of time with. It was part human, part reptile, part mutagen. She'd only smelled that twice before, with the turtles.

"Or maybe you would. Have you seen 4 giant turtles by any chance? You know, tall, green, kick ass fighters?" The girls eyes widened in surprise for a split second before her features became neutral.

"Umm...No?" She made it sound like she thought I was crazy, but a wolf's nose does not lie.

"Well, i know you're lying, but i get it if you're protecting them. Just, if you happen to see 4 giant mutant turtles, tell them Melanie needs their help. And if they agree to help then to meet her on the CRI building." With that, I stood up and finally climbed out of the dreaded manhole. I had only gotten 3 steps from it before the girls voice called out to me.

"Wait." I turned, seeing her climb up out of the hole after me. "Just, hang on a second, kay?" After I nodded, the girl pulled out a strange cell phone from her bag and dialed a number.

"Hey Donnie. I kind of ran into someone i think you might know." There was a pause. "She says her name's Melanie?" Another pause. "Actually, why don't we meet at my house when you guys leave for patrol?...Alright, see ya then."

She hung up, looking to meet my eyes that were asking a silent question. "They'll be on there way to meet you in about 20 minutes. Let's head over to my house to wait."

Before i could protest, she turned and waltzed out of the ally. Sighing, I followed her. Her house was only a few minutes walk away.

"You know, i never got your name." I reminded her. She froze, then laughed. "Sorry, i completely didn't realize that. I'm April. April O'Neil."

"So April, you seem like a normal human girl, how'd you get mixed up with a bunch of mutants?" She gave a small smile.

"Human, yes. Normal, not so much." After the 5 minute version of her story, I sat quietly, thinking. I wasn't even aware of her snapping her fingers in my face for a moment. "Hello? Earth to Melanie." I blinked, now blushing.

"Sorry, it's just- I was thinking of something." I explained. She nodded.

"I gathered that much." She responded. I smiled. "Anyway, i'm just gonna head to the bathroom real quick, kay?" I nodded and she left the room. Only a minute after she left, my ears twitched at a noise.

A window had creaked open in a room to my right. April had gone through a doorway to the left, so it wasn't her opening the window. A second later, practically silent footsteps touched

down on the floor. I stood from my seat, creeping to the door where it was coming from. Just as i was about to pull it open, someone on the other side beat me to it. It swung open

obnoxiously, leaving me face to face with Mikey. He screamed exaggeratedly, flailing his arms and falling backwards onto his butt. Though i was surprised as well, my reaction was much

calmer, i simply jumped back a foot. I heard someone chuckling, and looked up to see it was 2 of the other brothers, Leo and Donnie. Raph was there too, but he wasn't laughing. He just stood with his arms crossed.

"Dude! Are you trying to kill me?" Mikey demanded as he stood. I shrugged.

"Sorry." Just then April came back into the room.

"Melanie did you scream?" This caused the turtles to laugh harder, it even got a smile out of Raph.

"Nope, that was Mikey." I smirked.

She giggled. "Really?"

Everyone nodded. "Yeah, yeah, hilarious." Mikey butted in. I shrugged.

"Nice to see you again Melanie." Leo said, stepping around Mikey into the living room.

"You too." I turned to head back to the couch, only to find Mikey staring at me intently.

"Um...can i help you?" I asked. For a moment he didn't respond, then said slowly,

"There's something different about you." For a second i didn't even realize what he meant, until Raph responded sarcastically;

"Maybe it's the fact that she doesn't have fur growing out of her face?"

"No, that's not it." Mikey responded seriously. I rolled my eyes and changed back to mutant form.

Donnie nearly choked on his water. "How did you do that?" He exclaimed. I shrugged.

"I don't know, i can go from mutant to human at will but i'm not sure how."

"Amazing." He mused, walking around me. "It's a modern mutation miracle!" He exclaimed. "Your body can shift cells at will to alter your exterior appearance from one form to another." I raised my eyebrows.

"Well that's one way to put it, i guess." I muttered.

"Whatever." Raph interrupted. "We could be out patrolling right now. Why are we even here?"

I shot him a glare. "Because hot head. Even though it physically pains me to say so, I... I need your help."

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**So, what did you think? I don't even care if you hated it, because honestly i could have done better on this chapter. It's hard to write for all of them and have it sound like things they would actually say. Especially Donnie, i got a bit stuck on him. What do you think? REVIEW.**


	4. Proving Yourself

**Okay, I got it in on Saturday, like I said i would. It is extremely late on saturday, but i still met my deadline. Okay, so this chapter is pretty crucial, and i'm glad that it's out of the way because after this Melanie turns into much less of a Mary-Sue and much more into a kick ass fighter. Of course, she will still have some, err, obstacles, but she'll be much less dependent on others. I'm also going to try to give her some angsty background, if i can make it good enough. Her and Raph will also get over their rivalry in the next chapter. So you know the drill, Read, Review, Enjoy, and i only own Melanie. Next chapter will be up probably Wednesday.**

* * *

"I still don't get why we're trusting her. This whole thing could just be a trap."

Raph grumbled to Leo in what he probably thought was a whisper. I guess he either forgot about my heightened senses, or didn't care if i heard him or not.

"Because, what if it's not a trap, and a women really was kidnapped? It's a risk we're going to have to take. And besides, she hasn't done anything to make us think we can't trust her." Leo replied.

"Well she hasn't done anything to make us think we can trust her either!"

"She saved Mikey."

I sighed, finally fed up. I dropped from my position a few floors higher than then them on the fire escape so that I was level with them. They both started when I seemingly dropped from the sky.

"If that's your idea of a whisper you need to get your hearing checked." I informed them. At least Leo had the courtesy to look ashamed, but Raph's expression remained indifferent. She rolled her eyes at him and continued scaling the side of the building.

After I had explained everything that happened, and they had agreed to help, we had set off for TCRI. I explained that she was most likely there, as that was where they kept their non-mutant prisoners. Even if she wasn't, then their data center would have her location stored in their system.

When they had started to question how i knew so much about them, i had quickly avoided the subject by launching into a plan of how to get in. After collaborating with them, Donnie mostly, we had come up with a good enough plan; Mikey, Leo and I would break into the east side of the building to distract them, and get the guards to come to us. Meanwhile, Leo, Donnie, and Raph would sneak into the data storage center, in the west side, to find out if the girl was here or not.

Right now we were climbing up the side of the building next to it in order to get high enough so we could break into the least heavily guarded windows.

"Kay, it's right up here, the one 2 to the right should set off the alarm. You guys go all the way to the top, the skylight on the roof doesn't. There's a blind-spot in the cameras as long as you stay high at the rafters of the ceiling. The data-room is the first door down the hallway to the right." The guys just stared at me, until Raph broke the silence.

"Okay, now we really shouldn't trust her! How can she know that much about the Kraang without working for them?" He exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes. "Ever heard of 'Know thy enemy,' hot-head?" I scoffed.

"Yeah, but you're taking this farther than just that. How do you know that much about them?" He demanded.

"I find it better to have a plan before barging into enemy territory. And in order to plan, you need to know what you're up against." We both glared at each other, practically spitting fire at each other.

"Come on guys, they're gonna notice we're here if we just stand here for too long." Leo interrupted warily. I nodded, and after a moment's hesitation Raph did too.

I lead Mikey and Leo towards the appropriate window. "Ready?" I asked. They nodded and i got in position. "Then here we go."

I jumped from the fire escape directly into the window, feet first. It shattered, spilling glass everywhere. The second the glass gave out a loud, ear piercing alarm sounded throughout the whole building. I landed crouched, directly in front of 3 robots. Leo and Mikey landed behind me. Straightening, I bared my fangs and dove onto one, as Leo and Mikey each took one of the others. The fight only lasted approximately 3 seconds before they were disabled in one way or another.

"Come on, more will be on the way." I yelled, sprinting down the hallway with them right on my tail.

"Hey, i thought the data room was the other way?" Leo asked.

"It is, but we need to get to it without any guards following us there or signalling our location."

"But how do we-?" I cut him off.

"Like this." I pulled a knife from my boot, digging it into the crack between the air duct and the metal wall. Leo caught on and helped me, digging his sword in as well. After a few moments we managed to pry the covering off. "Get in." I hissed as i heard more Kraang approaching. They complied, diving in with me following. I pulled the cover back on, and we waited without breath for them to pass us.

Silently, I motioned for them to go right. After a few moments of crawling through the ducts, we came to another opening. With one well placed kick, I knocked the cover off. I jumped out, finding a sai pointed at my throat.

"Woah, same side hot-head." I reminded him. He pulled the weapon away, muttering "I'm not so sure about that." Under his breath. I chose to ignore that comment, turning my attention to Donnie.

"Well?"

"The girl is definitely here, but all it says is that she's in the non mutant holding cells." I nodded.

"Yeah i know where that is."

"Of course you do." Raph replied snarkily. Again ignoring him, I led them through the vents once again. This time we popped out in a large, dark corridor with cells along the walls. Sticking to the shadows, we crept down the hall, the alarm the only sound. After a minute I caught there attention, motioning to the cell on the far left. The nodded, rushing over there. I made sure i was human before poking my head up to the window. The girl was sitting there, head in her hands.

"Hey." I called softly. She jerked her head up, startled.

"Hey, you're that girl who was fighting these things before." She realized. I nodded.

"Yeah. Don't worry, you'll be out of here in a minute." I turned to Donnie who was picking the lock, wisely keeping out of her line of sight like the others. Finally, the lock turned green and the door swung open. They guys all dove for cover, melding perfectly into the shadows like the ninja they are.

"Come on." I led her down the corridor quickly, racing towards the first door i saw, labeled 'Emergency Exit.'

"I'd say this qualifies as an emergency, wouldn't you?" I couldn't help but ask. But the second i pushed the door open, revealing the darkness of New York, another alarm sounded. This one right above me, accompanied with a bright flashing light. I cursed every foul word I knew, in spanish and english. "Run." I told the girl.

"Where?"

"Anywhere but here!" I exclaimed. The girl did as I instructed, taking off for freedom. I could've followed, but instead i just readied myself, taking out my weapons. The guys seemed to drop out of the sky to stand with me, as the sounds of Kraang approaching got closer.

"Nice." Raph remarked smartly.

Irrational rage boiled inside of me. "Well they didn't do that the last time." I yelled. We both realized what i had said at the same time.

"The last time, you've done this before?" He demanded. Just then, a HUGE group of Kraang rounded the corner.

"Fight now, talk later." I insisted.

"No, retreat. We're on there territory, who knows how many their are or what they've got up there sleeve." Leo butted in.

"Running away, that's your plan?" Raph criticized. As those two argued, a familiar sound met my ears.

"Look out!" I called, just as a cage dropped over us.

"I knew this was a trap!" Raph glared at me. I gave him a look of utter disbelief for a moment.

"Is your mask on to tight? Cause in case you didn't notice, i'm trapped to!"

"Cool it you two. We need to find a way out of here." Leo interrupted. "Donnie can you pick the lock?"

"It's manual, not the usual high tech ones. You need a key."

"Yeah, or girl with a lock-pick." I scoffed, moving to the door. I reached into one of my coats many pockets, pulling out the tool i needed. Within one minute, the doors clicked open. We burst through, immediately going on the offensive.

I tore through enemy after enemy, but more just seemed to materialized in their place.

"Okay, I vote Leo's plan." I called out. The others readily agreed. We all raced towards the door, cutting through whoever got into our way.

Just as it thought we were actually going to make it, something caught my eye. Raph was locked in combat with one, but didn't notice another aim his blaster at his head.

Man, did all these brothers make the same mistake? I remembered Mikey being in a very similar position.

Only this time, i didn't have time to take out the Kraang. Instead, I dove for Raph, knocking him to the ground out of harms way. Sadly, i couldn't say the same for myself. The blast hit me dead on in the back, causing a sound half like a dog howling, half like a human crying out to erupt from my lips. I collapsed onto the ground, head spinning.

Subconsciously, I saw the robot lift his weapon again, aiming it towards my now vulnerable state. As my vision began to cloud with spots, i saw a sai pierce the aliens head. Someone gently but firmly lifted me from the ground into their arms. Blinking, i detected red on their face. Raph.

"Why'd you do that?" He asked gruffly. Before i could respond, my vision was completely absorbed by darkness.


	5. What I Deserve

**Okay, please don't kill me. I know I said i would update Wednesday, and it's Saturday now, but i'm really sorry. And I really wish I had an excuse but i really don't besides writers block. I tried to write this chapter around 15 times, but it never came out good enough. But even though i'm not completely satisfied with this chapter, i figured i should submit it for the few of you who actually read this story. I tried to make up for it by making it a tad bit longer. And just an FYI, she really does get a lot tougher after this chapter.**

**Okay, i don't know if any of you have had to try this, but writing master Splinter is NOT easy. I had a really hard time figuring out what he should say, but i gave it my best shot. Anyway, you know the drill, I only own Melanie. You know i really don't get the disclaimer, i mean pretty much no one who writes FANfiction actually owns the thing their writing about. If they did they could just make their story into the actual show/book/movie/ect. But still, you all know i don't actually own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Anyway, enjoy and tell me what you think.**

* * *

"Donnie, she's not waking up!" Raph exclaimed nervously, cradling the still unconscious girl in his arms as they raced back to the lair.

"Take it easy Raph, i'm sure she'll be fine. She's been hit by those blasters twice in one week, and their purpose is to take you out. Not to mention they were both direct hits; her body's best way of recovering right now is through sleep." He explained.

"Still, let's get her back to the lair, quick." Leo added.

"What about Splinter?" Mikey pointed out.

"He'll understand." Leo hopped he was right.

No one argued, and the rest of the run back was filled with tense silence.

When they burst into the lair, they immediately rushed Melanie to Donnie's lab. Right before they got to the door, a voice stopped them.

"My sons." They all skidded to a stop, turning to look back guiltily at their master. Leo motioned for Donnie to keep going, and he nodded, disappearing into his lab.

"Master Splinter, we can explain." Leo began.

"Yes, please explain why you have endangered us all by bringing a human into our secret hidden lair."

Leo faltered under his father's glare. "Um, well it's actually a really, really funny story. You are going to laugh your whiskers off when you hear this one." Splinter was not amused.

Leo sighed. "Look, do you remember that girl we told you about, Melanie? She saved Mikey from getting hurt or maybe worse, then we saved her. She saw a woman be kidnapped by the Kraang, and asked for our help in saving her. But while we were saving her, she got hurt protecting Raph. She was already hurt from her previous encounters with the Kraang, and getting hurt again effected her. And after everything she's done for us, we had to help her, too."

Splinter remained silent, stroking his beard and absorbing the new information. Finally he spoke. "I thought you told me this girl was a mutant."

"She is." Mikey jumped in. "She grows fangs, and claws, and her eyes light up, and fur grows out of her face!" He exclaimed. Splinter just gave him a look.

"What Mikey means is she can turn from human to mutant at will." Raph translated.

Finally, splinter nodded. "Very well, after all she has done for you boys we are in her debt. You did the right thing by bringing her here. We can only hope that since she is like us, she will understand our need to stay hidden."

The three remaining turtles all gave a collective sigh.

"Now go and see if Donatello requires assistance in aiding this girl. I shall meditate further on this issue." They all nodded and headed into the lab.

"How's she doing Donnie?" Raph was the first to ask.

"Well, the blast should heal soon, but it did open up her other one. She'll be a little sore but she'll be fine. Although, i did see something else while i was patching her up. It's...concerning to say the least." He nervously wrung his hands.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raph demanded.

"Well, come look."

They all exchanged glances as they stepped closer. Melanie was lying on her uninjured side on the table, still unconscious. Donnie cautiously lifted the bottom of her shirt only a few inches, but that was all they needed to see.

Her abdomen was literally covered in scars. Some were just nicks, like they themselves have gotten from sparring and training occasionally. Others were clearly from fights, white lines crossed over her stomach, marring the creamy pale skin.

But one was different from the others. It was much longer, and you could tell that it had gone much deeper. It started just to the right of her naval, and wrapped around her side to the small of her back.

They all just stood in shocked and somber silence. Finally, Donnie spoke again.

"That's not it." He covered her stomach, and gently lifted her sleeves. Circling her wrists were harsh, thick rings. Not cut's like the others, these were almost like the whole flesh had once been an open wound.

No one spoke, it wasn't necessary. They were all thinking the same thing, for they had all been taught the same thing. Splinter had instilled in each of the boys that above all, harming women and children was the absolute worst form of cowardice and dishonor. They were all appalled by not only the injuries, but the fact that someone had intentionally done it to her, probably when she was still a child. It was silent until they heard a sigh coming from behind them.

Master Splinter had come up behind them. "It appears there is much more to this young girl's tale than we know yet, my sons. Come, let her rest." They followed him out, leaving Melanie alone.

At the door, Raph stopped to look back at the girl. He couldn't help but notice how when she was human, sleeping, hurt; she looked so...helpless. She was just a girl, a girl who had been through something, something terrible. And right now she looked completely and utterly vulnerable. So much unlike the tough guy lone wolf act she had put on. Under that act, there was so much more. She just didn't let people see it.

He gave a soft smile. Maybe they weren't so different after all.

* * *

A few hours later found Raph back in the lab.

After a few tense hours, he couldn't take it anymore. Despite his attempts to distract himself, he was drawn back to this room like a magnet. He had trained with the guys, ate, punched the punching bag, fed and talked to spike, trained on his own; but still, inevitably he found himself in here.

He wasn't sure why. I mean, it's not like he had anything better than an extremely basic knowledge of first aid. And she was asleep, what could he possibly do for her? But still, he couldn't tear himself away from the room.

No, he couldn't tear himself away from her. He sighed, finally giving in and pulling up a chair. He sat there idly, twirling his sai calmly in his fingers. After a few minutes of this, he was really starting to get annoyed with himself. Nothing was wrong, nothing was happening. Why was he here?

Grumbling, he stood to leave. Right before he reached the door, however, a small noise halted him. His eyes scanned around the room before resting on Melanie. She was still the same, unmoved, asleep. So what had that noise been?

It sounded again, this time definitely from Melanie. He crept closer to her, wondering what to do. Her previously peaceful face was now scrunched up, lines creasing it and a frown in place of the small, serene smile. Her breathing was starting to increase as she turned slightly to her left, now on her stomach.

The sound had definitely come from her. Raph realized now that it was a kind of whimper, mixed with a slight growl, barely a rumble in the noise.

Was this her snoring? Should he wake her up? Just leave?

No, definitely not the last one. He couldn't just leave her here.

The noise came again, this time completely human. A louder whimper mixed with a gasp. She turned again, twisting her head back and forth.

As the process repeated, getting louder and more vigorous, Raph realized she was having a nightmare. Quietly, he called out her name. She didn't respond. If anything she got more agitated. More gently than Raph though he could be, he rested a hand on her shoulder, shaking her the smallest amount.

"Melanie, wake up." He called, slightly louder. The incoherent mumbles had now become small words; "No...stop, please...don't, don't hurt her...Stop!" On the last one Raph gave her a final shake, and her eyes flew open. They were wide in fear, Raph had never seen so much fear in one person before.

She didn't process where she was, what was going on, or who was with her. All she knew was there was someone hovering over her, grabbing her. Instinctively, her arm shot out, claws extended aiming at his face. The hit was sloppy, slow, unplanned. Raph easily caught it with his free hand.

He waited for her to realize that she wasn't in her dream, that she wasn't in danger. When she did she slowly sunk back down into her makeshift bed. Raph released her slowly. She sat up, pulling her legs up to her chest as she stared at the floor.

"Sorry." She mumbled. He raised his eye ridges in a silent question.

"For swinging at you." She clarified, still not meeting his eyes. He gave a small nod.

"Don't worry about it." Neither of them spoke for a long moment, but it wasn't an awkward silence, it was comfortable.

"What did you want to stop." Raph finally couldn't hold back. She raised her eyes to his.

"What?"

"You talk in your sleep. You kept muttering stuff, asking for something to stop." If he was the type, Raph probably would apologize for asking such a personal question, but somehow he knew it was okay; she needed to talk about it. He was proven right a minute later when she answered.

"It's just, some stuff from my past. When i have nightmares i sort of, relive my worst moments. I guess getting shot triggered some old memories." He nodded, not averting his gaze from hers.

After a few minutes, she sighed. "Fine, i'll bite. Is there a reason you're staring at me like that?" He refused to look abashed, instead holding her eyes with his.

"Why did you do it? Why risk yourself to save me? Especially after i was such a jerk to you. I didn't deserve it."

She regarded him for a while, before the smallest of smiles graced her lips.

"No, you didn't. You didn't deserve to get shot." She corrected him.

"And you did?" He asked, still confused. She hugged her knees tighter to her chest. She couldn't meet his eyes.

"You don't know anything about me, how do you know i didn't?" She mumbled. He regarded her carefully, wondering what to say.

"I know. I know because you didn't have time to decide to save me, you just did. And when we first met, you didn't have time to decide whether or not to save Mikey, you just did. Your gut instinct is to protect others. Even others who were total, complete jerks to you for no reason. Anyone who's first thought is of others, even over their own pain and suffering, doesn't deserve anything even close to what's happened to you in the past." He admitted.

"You don't know what's happened in my past." She retorted.

"I would if you told me." He pushed.

She just shook her head. She couldn't bear to tell him. She couldn't bear to tell him that the reason her first thought was to protect them, was because there was someone she couldn't protect before. That she couldn't take failing someone, anyone else again.

He didn't push any further. "I'm sorry." He finally conceded.

"For?"

"Well, for not trusting you; for being a huge jerk about not trusting you; for pushing you to talk about something personal; am I forgetting anything?"

She laughed lightly. "No, i think you've covered it."

Just then, the door opened, revealing Donnie.

"Hey, your up!" He exclaimed, rushing over. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better, but i'll be fine with some painkillers." She responded.

"Hey Raph, what are you doing in here?" Donnie asked, confused.

"Oh, just checking if she was finally awake." He replied casually.

Donnie blinked. "Okay did I miss something? Last i saw you guys kind of hated each other." Melanie realized he was right. Why was Raph suddenly being...nice?

"He's got a point. What, i get hurt and suddenly you like me?" She asked.

"No, you get hurt protecting me and i like you." He smirked. She chuckled. But before she could respond her stomach growling interrupted them. "Hungry?" He asked, still holding that smirk on his face. She rolled her eyes.

"You figure that out all by yourself?" She retorted. She swung her legs off the table/bed thing she was on and stood up. "You guys got any decent food around here?"

"If Pizza and herbal tea counts as decent." Donnie replied, leading her out to the kitchen. Before she could reply, another voice called out her name. Something slammed into her, and she was immediately on alert. That is, until she realized she wasn't being attacked, she was being hugged.

"Oh, you're a hugger." She noted. She swore she heard someone laughing, but when she turned her head Raph was just standing there innocently. She finally managed to pry Mikey's arms off, allowing her to breathe.

"Glad to see you're okay." Another voice interrupted. Melanie turned to see Leo. She was about to reply, but another voice spoke from behind her, a new voice.

"Yes child. My sons were all very concerned for your health." She turned, to look into the face of a giant rat. Woah.

"Um...Thank you Mr..."

"You may call me Splinter. Come child. I wish to speak with you." She sent a quick, confused glance to the guys before following him into another room.

"Come, sit." He motioned for her to kneel by a table. "Tea?"

"Yes, please." She accepted.

"Now Miss, my sons have told me much about you. I assume it is true you are like us, a mutant?"

In response she let her eyes glow, fangs lengthen, and ears point. She really didn't want to spend the energy of shifting fully.

He nodded at her display. "Then I assume you can understand our need to remain hidden. My sons brought you in, confident you don't pose a threat. I can only hope they are right. I am afraid, we are entirely at your mercy." He spoke in his low, deep, calming voice that almost unconsciously demanded respect and put her at ease at the same time. She realized what he was asking, what he was worried about.

"Oh, i would never tell anyone. I would never betray you like that." She quickly assured him. "I would never do to you what someone could do to me." He nodded.

"I wonder, if you can forgive an old mans curiosity, why my sons have told me you are living on your own."

She averted her gaze to her steaming tea. "Because i am. I've been living on my own for 3 years, since..."

"Sometimes, speaking of a difficult part of our past can help us move past it." He suggested. Melanie found she couldn't say no to him, somehow.

"Since I escaped." She began quietly. "The way I became mutated, it was through the Kraang. They captured me when i was 9. They were experimenting with the mutagen, and I was the result. I managed to escape, and i've been on my own and on the run from them ever since."

She gave him the general idea, but couldn't bring herself to mention what had happened before she was kidnapped. She just couldn't.

"I am truly sorry for you, child, and most humbled by your story." He stroked his beard a few times, thinking. "It would seem i am in your debt. Thanks to you, my sons are alive and well. You are welcome to stay here, if you wish." She blinked. Had he just- before she could question him, he stood up. "I must meditate now. My sons should be waiting outside. If i'm not mistaken, with their ears to the door." She gave a small laugh as she heard a commotion outside, like they were going back to their original positions.

She stood, too, and bowed deeply to the old rat. "Thank you, sir. I will think about your offer." He nodded, stepping into a small room. She stepped across the room and opened the door, finding four guilty looking turtles trying to act casual.

I laughed lightly again, signalling my return.

"Hey!" Mikey exclaimed. "So are you staying?"

I shrugged. "Don't know."

"What do you mean, Splinter said you could?" The other's face palmed.

"You don't tell people you've been eavesdropping on them, Mikey." Leo explained. I grinned.

"Yes he said i could stay, but i'm not sure i will." I explained.

I sat on the couch with Raph and Leo, wincing as i forgot about my wound and leaned back on it.

"Why not?" Leo asked. "Did you find somewhere else to live yet?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Do you have anyone else to stay with?" Donnie continued.

"Not exactly,-"

"Then why not stay here?" Mikey finished.

I opened my mouth to respond, but found i couldn't think of an argument.

"Plus, what if you get attacked again like last time. You're in no shape to fight." Raph pointed out.

"So that settles it, your staying here." Leo said with an air of finality.

"But-"

"No buts." Raph interrupted. "We'll set up a room for you, and until then you can sleep in mine."

I sighed. "Fine, but only until I find another place." I insisted.

* * *

**Okay, so Melanie and Raph have their little moment there. And what do you think about her staying with them? Will she leave when she finds a new place to live? Review, tell me what you want to happen. I do take it into account.**


	6. First Patrol

**Hey, i'm back. Okay, so my last "Update" was actually me just editing, so i'm sorry if it confused or disappointed anyone. I'm going back to edit the rest of the chapters, so over the next few days the same thing might happen a few times. I just find my work get's better when i go back after a little while to look at it with fresh eyes.**

**So it's come to my attention that while hundreds of people are reading this, i've only gotten 3 reviews. Does anyone else see a problem with this? I realize this usually happens, and some people might not like the story enough to bother, but come on, three? BTW thank you to the 3 who did review. I'm not gonna be one of those people who say that at least 10 people must review or they're going to stop the story, but let's just say review may motivate me to update faster. *Wink, Wink***

**So anyway, this chapters is sort of a filler, sort of just showing the peace and happiness that Melanie gets now. And how she fits in with the turtles. But something important does happen, so don't think you can skip it just because i called it a filler. I also wanted to show that she can fight and is helpful, although you haven't seen anything yet.**

**Still, I don't own TMNT.**

**See you guys next update,**

**-pupgirl123**

* * *

"Ah. I'd almost forgotten how good things besides pizza and sewer smelled." Melanie grinned as she inhaled a huge breath through her nose.

"Hey, it's only bad for you because you've got the whole super-smell wolf thing going on." Mikey informed her, climbing up out of the manhole after her. She smiled.

It had been a week since she joined up with the turtles. Her idea of leaving was only a brief argument. She couldn't find it in herself to leave them. Even though she knew this couldn't last forever, and despite every promise she had made herself to never get attached to anyone, she couldn't help but doing just that. They treated her like a sister, family. Something she hadn't realized she had missed all these years. And even though she knew the risk, and that eventually, this would only case her pain, she shoved those thoughts back to the darkest recesses of her mind. At least for now, she was content with simply allowing herself happiness.

And besides, she didn't think she could leave them. Teenage mutant turtles or not, they had grown on her. There was something about each of them that drew her in, that shook the carefully placed walls around herself;

They way Mikey was so childish and innocent; How Donnie was so determined and smart; Leo had the leader and overprotective air about him, something Melanie admired.

And Raph... He was by far the closest to her, despite their rocky start. In the days she had known them, they had spent most of the time together. She could see that he put up a tough guy, hard shell around himself, but on the inside he was just as sweet as Mikey, as determined as Donnie, and as protective and brave as Leo. He didn't just shake her mental barriers, he tore through them all together. Or at least, most of the way. She still had a few shields even he couldn't crack.

"You just gonna stand there sniffing all day Princess?"

She shoved down an annoyed snarl. One thing she didn't like about Raph: His stupid nickname for her. But, she got her revenge.

"Yeah right Hot-Head. Bet i'll take out twice as many guys as you do." She crossed her arms with a confident smirk.

"Let's take it easy tonight Mel." Leo interrupted. "It is your first time on patrol."

None of the guys had wanted to allow her to come up with them. They were worried about her getting hurt or captured by the Kraang. Though she hadn't told them the whole story of why, they at least knew that the Kraang were after her. Also, according to Leo, they didn't want to expose her to the horrors of the New York City underworld. When he explained that to her, she had flat out, literally, laughed in his face. After reminding him of the neighborhood where she had lived before the Lair, and how she had been homeless on the streets after AND before that crappy apartment, he had realized why she laughed and had the decency to look sheepish.

She had only agreed to wait until she healed and trained some with Splinter, but now she was rested and ready and eager to bash some heads in.

Wow, Raph was really rubbing off on her.

She had finally gotten them to agree to take her to the surface with them on nightly patrol, but only after threatening to just smell her way out and follow them after they left anyway. Leo had agreed that she'd be better off going with them than going off on her own.

She waved her hand to Leo in a 'yeah yeah' gesture.

"Yeah, whatever. Just don't expect me to sit on the sidelines if there is a fight." She warned him.

They showed her how they stuck to the rooftops, which she was fine with. She had actually done it a few times before, when she wanted to travel in wolf form. She laughed as they did tricks as they crossed.

"Check this out!" Mikey called before flipping over an average sized gap. Donnie went next. Leo followed with the most impressive flip by far. That is, until it was Mel's turn.

She took a few big steps back, before running full steam to the edge. Right before she reached it, she pushed off with both feet into a front flip, landing on her hands. She used the momentum to shove herself off with her arms, flipping a total of 4 times in the air before her feet touched the other rooftop. But she didn't stop there; she pushed forward executing a perfect front handspring, backflip, and finally landing perfectly on both feet.

She caught her breath, desperately trying not to laugh at Donnie, Leo, and Mikeys reactions. Raph only smirked from the other roof, since he had seen some of her gymnastic techniques before when they sparred in the dojo - one of their favorite things to do.

"Yeah yeah, real impressive princess." Raph called over.

"Woah."

"Sweet!"

"DUDE!"

One guess who yelled the last one.

"How-but, you-you just-COOL!" Mikey exclaimed, staring wide eyed at the laughing girl.

"How did you do that?" Donnie asked in awe.

"Gymnastics for 7 years, and look out." She replied, stepping back.

"What-oof."

Raph crash landed on them, making a huge pile of turtles. They all laughed, until Mel suddenly stopped abruptly. She shifted immediately, whipping her head back and forth.

"What?" Leo asked, instantly on alert. His hand slipped slowly towards his swords until it rested on the hilt. The others followed suit, looking around for any kind of danger.

Melanie ignored them, lifting her nose to the air and attempting to pinpoint the location of the smell that had caught her nose. She paced around the roof to try to find a trail, but the wind was going the wrong way. It could be coming from any direction.

"What? What is it?" Mikey squeaked, holding onto Raph's arm who promptly threw him off.

"I smell something." She muttered; trying to appease them so she could concentrate on tracking.

"That's it? You smell a steak or something?" Raph asked, clearly annoyed.

"Not a steak, hot head, fear." She bit out.

"Fear?" Leo asked. She nodded, whipping her head to the left as the wind shifted.

"Technically speaking it's never been scientifically proven that K9's can smell fear." Donnie pointed out.

"Well i'll prove it now. Come on." She took off over the rooftops, the guys right on her heels. They followed her nose about 3 blocks, where they found the source in an alleyway. A young woman was being held back by a man practically twice her height. He pinned her arms to her sides with one hand, the other hand covering her mouth. She struggled, but was easily overpowered. 5 others were there as well, laughing at the girls plight.

"Well, looks like we've hit the jackpot tonight, huh boys?" The one that seemed to be the leader asked. "Who wants a go first?" She sneered down at her.

From above, Melanie snarled. The guys were just a building behind her, but she didn't feel like waiting.

"Not while i'm here you *******." (Insert whatever you want here).

She pulled her hood up before she jumped down, landing on a dumpster next to the scene and successfully catching all of their attention.

"Seriously, are you guys so desperate for a girl that you resort to this?" She heard one of the turtles, probably Mikey, stifling his laugh from above. She smirked when she heard Leo mutter something along the lines of, "This is not taking it easy."

Even though she remained hidden in the shadows, her voice gave away that she was a girl. The lead guy smirked at her crouched figure.

"What, you wanna join babe?" The next second a trash can lid slammed into his solar plexus, knocking him onto his back.

"Pass. And don't call me babe." She spoke in a deadly calm voice.

"Look it's one of you and 6 of us." Another spoke cockily.

"I wouldn't count the one on the ground, he won't be getting up for a while. And unless you wanna join him i suggest you start running. Now."

"No way girly. Why don't you either scram or quit hiding like a coward and fight?"

Suddenly there were 4 more thumps as the turtles landed next to her. The men all took a collective step back. She shrugged.

"Hey, I warned you. To late to back out now."

Since there were only 5 left standing, they had absolutely no trouble. Everyone took one, and they had them on the run within all of three seconds. Melanie ran to the one still holding the girl, delivering a swift roundhouse kick to the right side of his face. He stumbled back, releasing the girl. She ran towards Melanie, ducking behind her. Mel went for another blow, but Leo beat her to it, shoving the guy against the wall.

"Hey, i wasn't done yet!" She protested.

"Get her out of here." Leo ordered. Melanie resisted the urge to roll her eyes, as she knew he was right. The guys had stuck to the shadows, practically invisible to a human, so the girl wouldn't see them. Melanie was the only one who wouldn't freak the girl out.

She turned to the girl who was still cowering behind her.

"Come on, let's get out of here." She rested a hand on the girls shaking shoulder, leading her out of the alley.

"Th-thank you." The girl stuttered. "I thought they would-." She couldn't continue.

"Well they didn't. So..." She wasn't quite sure what to say. She never had been great at comforting people. Hesitantly, she started to turn to leave, only to be stopped by the girls voice.

"How did you know that I needed help?"

"I was walking by, heard the commotion."

"Thank god you did. Um, I'm Sam by the way." Melanie took note of her appearance. She had straight, dirty blonde hair that just skimmed her shoulders, but was covered by a gray beanie. There was a dusting of freckles on the lightly tanned skin just below her bright green eyes. She was an inch shorter than Mel, with a tiny frame.

"Melanie. Wish we could've met under better conditions."

Sam laughed.

"What were you doing out so late?" Melanie asked.

"I work in a movie theater, i was heading home and they grabbed me as i passed by the ally."

"I'll walk you back, so nothing else happens." Melanie offered.

"No need, i'm right across the street." She pointed. "I just dropped something. It's somewhere around here." Sam started looking around, and Mel joined in. A second later she heard a whistle so soft only her sensitive ears could hear it. She glanced inconspicuously towards the roof it had come from. The guys were crouched there, waiting. Mikey had been the one to whistle, and was now pointing at a pile of trash bags right before the ally. Mel walked over to them, finding an orange skateboard hiding behind it.

"Hey, is this it?" She asked Sam. Her face broke into a grin.

"Yes, thanks. I'd be lost without it. Hey if you don't mind my asking, where'd you learn to fight like that? I wouldn't mind learning some self defense."

"More like offense. But sorry, i didn't learn from a public place, a family member taught me. But hey, until you learn some, i recommend pepper spray and a tazer gun."

Sam giggled. "Well, I should get going. Thanks again Melanie." She turned and jogged to the building across the street. Mel turned to walk away back to the guys. But Sam's voice stopped her once again. "Oh, and thank that turtle for me, too." She whipped around, but Sam was already inside.

* * *

After agreeing to talk to Sam the next night, (after all, she had been though enough tonight), they had returned to their patrol. It was a successful first patrol in Melanie's book. They'd stopped 2 groups of purple dragons from beating up innocent people, one robbery, and 3 attempted raping's. Now they were headed home. That is until Mikey had an idea.

"Let's go for Pizza!" He said happily.

The others readily agreed. Even Melanie, who for obvious reasons preferred a 90% meat diet, had grown used to it. So long as the Pizza had some type of meat, like pepperoni or sausage, she was fine with it. She offered to go in to get it, so they wouldn't have to wait for the guy to deliver it or bother getting dressed up in a hilariously bulky trench coat. They handed her the money and she jumped down into the alley, agreeing to meet them back on the roof after she got it.

She ran inside, quickly ordering 2 large meatball, shrimp, and avocado pizzas. Suppressing a shiver, she asked him to leave a quarter of one of them just meatball.

Since it was so late, there was only one other person in the pizza parlor. A man who looked about 40, with slightly graying, otherwise brown hair, a pudgy face, and a potbelly. His black eyes didn't leave her as she leaned against the counter, prompting her to pull her hood over her head.

After waiting ten minutes for the, um, unique, pizzas to be made, she paid the man who eyed her hood warily, and quickly departed the restaurant.

Just as she reached the alleyway to climb back up to the rooftops, footsteps behind her caught her ears. She turned, seeing that guy from the pizza place. The one who was staring at her in a way that made her resist the urge to shove the cardboard box down his throat.

"Hey baby." He slurred. A quick sniff confirmed it, this guy was drunk off his ass. "Where you headed all alone?"

She rolled her eyes. "As far away from you as humanly," _and mutantly, _"Possible." She retorted.

She turned to walk away, but he threw his arm over her shoulder before she could turn all the way.

"Feisty." He laughed. "I like feisty." He whispered into her ear.

Over his disgustingly slurred voice and the angry blood pounding in her ears, she heard a small scuffle from above them on the rooftops.

She focused more, and could hear Leo insist; "Raph, she can handle it. We can't expose ourselves." Obviously Raph didn't agree, as he kept struggling and they had to physically hold him back.

Cutting out some colorful language, he growled back, "Whether or not she can handle the ******* *******, I'm gonna pound him so **** far into the ground that he feels exactly like the piece of **** that he is."

Finally losing her patience, Melanie snapped.

"Look, it's only fair to warn you that I can, and will snap your arm if you don't remove it." She stated in a surprisingly monotone voice, that made it only more threatening.

But the man only laughed. "Girl's got some spunk. Bet yah like it rough, huh?" He purred with a perverted grin.

That was both Melanie and Raph's breaking point. Raph pulled away from his brothers and jumped down, only to find the man already running away in terror, clutching his arm that had just a few moments ago been resting on Melanie's shoulder.

"Didn't think you'd take that threat seriously, princess." He snickered. She laughed with him.

"Well, i didn't quite break it. Just twisted it until it was _very_ unpleasant, then i flashed the fangs and he ran."

"Well, you can't say he didn't deserve it." Donnie added.

"Although next time, i say skip the warning and go straight to the action." Leo advised. She shrugged.

"I was taught to always warn someone in advance to give them a chance to do the right thing."

"Who taught you that?" Mikey asked curiously.

Melanie immediately looked down, averting her eyes as a face flashed in her mind. _His_ face.

The sound of skin meeting skin brought her back to the present; she looked up to see Mikey rubbing the back of his head and Raph crossing his arms. Leo and Donnie looked at her with worried eyes. Mikeys face held innocent curiousity, and Raph's was neutral. Although, considering he had been the one to hit Mikey, he had noticed how she'd closed down.

"No one, Mikey." She said quickly. She shoved the Pizza into his hands, and turned to the alley.

"We should be getting back, right?" She asked. The others, minus Mikey, exchanged glances before following her back home.

* * *

**So, new character. You guys think i should do anything with Sam, or just have her be a one time thing? I'm not sure yet if i'm going to keep her around, but if i do i've got an idea about who he can end up with. Anyone care to guess? I dropped a few hints. Let me know what you think; Should Sam come back, should she end up with someone, and if so, who?**

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